Serendipitously, coming across this article in
Amusing Planet about the green cabmen’s shelters of London that date back to one particularly blustery morning in 1875 when no cabs could be hailed as all the drivers were hunkered down in a pub (absent any other place to go without leaving their horses unattended) and in no mood to brave the elements keyed us onto what this grey structure might be that we pass downtown on a regular basis.
To remedy the situation and to discourage drink-driving, a group of philanthropists commissioned the building of sheds scattered throughout the city that could house (rather trans-dimensionally, like another London
street icon) a dozen drivers and was equipped with a full-kitchen with subsidised meals. Thirteen out of sixty-one original shelters remain and are still in operation and the exclusive reserve of taxi drivers. If Wiesbaden ever had such a hide-away for cabbies, it’s certainly no longer accommodating. See a gallery of the little buildings plus take a peek inside at the link up top.
To remedy the situation and to discourage drink-driving, a group of philanthropists commissioned the building of sheds scattered throughout the city that could house (rather trans-dimensionally, like another London street icon) a dozen drivers and was equipped with a full-kitchen with subsidised meals. Thirteen out of sixty-one original shelters remain and are still in operation and the exclusive reserve of taxi drivers. If Wiesbaden ever had such a hide-away for cabbies, it’s certainly no longer accommodating. See a gallery of the little buildings plus take a peek inside at the link up top.
